Welcome to BEST

We believe a decision by the Minister of the Environment issuing an SDO for the Southlands development is imminent.

We urge you as members of the Bermuda public to voice your protest against this decision now by doing the following;

Here are some letters that have already been written and sent to the Minister of the Environment:Â

Dear Minister,
As a Bermudian I feel the development of any area of open space in Bermuda would be disastrous for our current population and devastating to the future of our island home. (more…)

Did you watch “Southlands and South Shore” on ZBM? Do you have an opinion on this issue that you would like to share? If so, click on “comments” above and have your say (all comments are held for approval first before appearing on the site in order to avoid spam).

The Southlands developers have attempted to persuade the public that their proposal is of “national importance”.

Unfortunately, the Southlands developers passed over some very important statistics that bring the Southlands proposal into clearer perspective.

In 1986 Bermuda had almost 600,000 visitors (in 1987 the figure topped 600,000).

Anyone who lived here at the time will remember how overwhelmed our infrastructure was for those successive summers. We experienced a collective strain and exhaustion. In the shops, store clerks lost patience and were snippy with customers. There weren’t enough taxis for those who wanted them and taxi drivers also had their patience worn thin, both from the sheer volume of demand and from the heightened congestion on our roads. Even pedestrians were exasperated by the difficulty just walking in Hamilton on sidewalks clogged with visitors. (more…)

The BEST Save the South Shore Walk last Sunday was a resounding success. Close to 350 people attended and walked the stretch from Warwick Long Bay to Southlands and back. The weather was near ideal and the event proved to be a good fundraiser. We made $11,000 from t-shirt sales!

Thanks to everyone who either helped out or showed up to take part in the walk and thanks for buying our T-shirts! We couldn’t have done it without you!

By the way, we still have some t-shirts in case you or family or friends would like to add to the support. Contact cpowell@northrock.bm for details.

Check out more of our pictures on Flickr!

In 2004, the Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) delivered a report to the Bermuda Government, titled Campaign for the Future of Bermuda: A Review of Youth Violence. In the report, BIBA called for the assessment, management and planning of growth in the International Business (IB) Sector. The same analysis should be applied to the Tourism sector. (more…)

“ADVANCED T-SHIRT PURCHASES”
$20, $50 or $100 Shirts
Please make cheques payable to: B.E.S.T.
Mail cheques to:
Suite 528,
48 Par-la-Ville Road,
Hamilton HM11
Bermuda
Note: Please send email to cpowell@northrock.bm indicating your payment and cheque number.shirt-layout.pdf

To put it simply, BEST is working on several fronts to preserve Bermuda’s social, economic and physical environment. (more…)

Dear friend of the Environment,

In order for the Bermuda Environment and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) to continue the fight against the ongoing threats to our diminishing open spaces we must begin to raise funds to support our cause. (more…)

If the Southlands developers build on the shoreline as planned, they will:

• Set a precedent for making Bermuda’s shoreline resemble Miami or Cancun where rows and rows of hotels are built virtually right on the beaches.

• Open shoreline to other development opportunists - once one hotel does it then other developers will argue they should be able to do likewise for hotels, condos, an other luxury housing projects.

• Require construction of “foreshore reinforcement” and protection devices - experts and experience tell us that without protective walls, revetments, groins and other massive concrete devices, no buildings can survive heavy weather and waves on the shoreline.

• Affect beach dynamics far beyond property borders - whatever beach protection device is used, it will change the dynamics of the beachfront leading to beach loss or disruption further along the coastline.

• Set stage for coastline litter - when any destructive event occurs, the construction materials, including glass, along with furnishings and other debris will be strewn along the South Shore, making the area far more unsafe and unaesthetic than it would otherwise be.

The Bermuda Government has this information from the Coastal Erosion study commissioned after Hurricane Fabian. We all have this information from the news from Cancun & other places reporting on the consequences of shoreline development.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/03/11/cancun_nature_at_war_over_beaches/
http://www.examiner.com/a-612820~Cancun__Nature_at_War_Over_Beaches.html

Building on Bermuda’s shoreline must not be allowed!